Crystals Are Probably Bullsh*t, but I Love Them

Crystals Are Probably Bullsh*t, but I Love Them

People (and by people, I mean new-age hippies first, celebs next, and now everyone at Starbucks) are very into crystals.

Crystals are nice and shiny. You can wear them as jewelry, use them as Pinterest-worthy decorations in your home, get them placed on you in a spa treatment, and —you know, whatever your thing is.

Some even believe they have mystical qualities—an "" (quote from Goop, duh)—that can relieve stress, improve mental health, even cure illness.

Why? Well, mostly because they're old (fun fact: the "oldest piece of earth" is a ) and they vibrate (quartz, for example, is used in watches, radios, and other technology to generate a charge or help tune things).

In theory, the vibration of an ancient crystal could cure or improve something with its energy. So black obsidian may help you "decompress" and "ground yourself at the end of the day," rose quartz "activates the heart... and promotes positive energy," and amethyst "rids negative energy" and "treats addiction."

In practice, there's no evidence crystals have special powers. In fact, science has evidence against it. In one example, even ardent believers between real quartz crystals and glass fakes.

But don't trade in your wand and give up on crystals yet, because science has a good sense of humor about things like this.

The says the belief in the crystal (rather than the crystal itself) is enough for it to work. In medicine, the placebo is usually a sugar pill with no active ingredients, a sugar pill that cures patients !

and , science shows the can hold strong, even if you're told a placebo is what you're getting in the first place! In other words, if you want rose quartz to "activate the heart," even if you're sure it's a piece of shiny rock, it very well could.

So stop judging all those people with crystals—or get more if you're already on board.

I just bought some apple aura quartz on Etsy (fights off "" and is "!") in hopes you'll read this entire article, and it seems... like... it's... working!

I love all of this. It's a part of science we're starting to learn more about, but it's clear the placebo effect has an actual, on the brain. To me, this really emphasizes the power and potential of intention. There's a growing that setting your mind to something (visualizing a successful home run in sportsball, for example) can will that something into existence. If you can dream it, you can do it.

Though don't depend on crystals instead of medicine—that's dangerous.

Think about what you've told yourself and others, what you "believe" is holding you back. Then maybe buy a crystal (or literally anything) to help you start thinking differently.